Fnatic reportedly adding YamatoCannon for LEC 2021 season

After parting ways with SANDBOX Gaming, Jakob “YamatoCannon” Mebdi seems to be heading to Fnatic as the team's new head coach for the 2021 LEC season. 

According to ESPN’s Jacob Wolf, YamatoCannon will be Fnatic’s new head coach in 2021 and will replace Alfonso “Mithy” Rodríguez. who has been with the team since December 2019. Mithy’s future is reportedly undecided but it seems possible that he could end up as the assistant coach for Cloud9 if the LCS team manages to buy out Luca “Perkz” Perković, according to Wolf. 

YamatoCannon spent the 2020 Summer Split in the LCK, where he coached SANDBOX Gaming. He became the first Westerner to coach an LCK team, but both parties decided to part ways in October after finishing the 2020 LCK Summer Split in seventh place. 

Before heading to Korea, YamatoCannon coached Vitality for over two years and took the team to the 2018 World Championship. The popular Swede also has a lot of experience from the LEC broadcast, where he has been guesting at the analyst desk. His deep knowledge of the European scene and years of experience makes YamatoCannon a strong pickup for one of Europe’s greatest teams. 

YamatoCannon is mostly known for being a great leader that players can look up to. A team like Fnatic likely requires a coach that has strategic knowledge but also knows how to work with top LoL pros. YamatoCannon haven't yet proved himself on a top organization like Fnatic, but it might be the right time for him to get the chance. 

If the report is accurate, YamatoCannon could be officially announced as the new Fnatic head coach very soon.